Berry Berry Good Cocktails

Don’t laugh. But I decided to have a tea party. They’re all the rage. But leave your politics at the door, because this is boozy tea party and I don’t want things to get ugly.

It’s not hard to slip a bit of hooch into a cup of tea. Grandmas everywhere have been doing it as long as there’s been sherry for sale. But handling this combination with panache was the goal of my boozy tea party. So I chose bourbon and black tea. I think they compliment each other marvelously. I call this cocktail a Tea Time Bourbon Cocktail with Blueberries. Which isn’t very original I know. But it doesn’t have to be because this tea time cocktail is a complex marriage of blueberries muddled with black tea, rosé wine, lemon juice and (of course) bourbon. Making a tea that is decidedly not for totallers. My tea party was a big hit. My cocktail… a home run.

I think the berries brought it home.

Summer berries are sweet, ripe and juicy. They’re natural additions to all kinds of great cocktails. They bring a bright seasonal sweetness– perfect for my end-of-summer tea party. Because it’s right now when plump, sun-ripened berries are primed for the plucking.

Today I thought I’d try something different. Not only will I provide you a berry recipe from my own collection, Tea Time Bourbon Cocktail with Blueberries,  but I also decided to look around Key Ingredient for a few more berry-licious ideas. From sweet strawberries to juicy blackberries, here are four more from of my favorite berry-spiked sippers.

Oh, and you better start start mixing now; you have only about a month left to make these seasonal recipes before the best fruit disappears. Why don’t you belly up to the bar and give one of these berry, berry delightful drinks a try. GREG